A Retrospective Cohort Study of Elderly Patients with Frequent Visits to A Tertiary Academic Hospital

Abstract

Objectives: Frequent visits are one of the main causes of overcrowding in emergency departments of hospitals. Identifying the characteristics of frequent patients will help the managers of the medical service delivery system to provide more effective strategies to reduce the number of visits to the emergency department. This study was designed with the aim of determining the rate and causes of repeated visits of elderly people to the emergency room of a tertiary academic hospital in 2022. Method: This was a descriptive-cross-sectional study. The statistical population of this research included all elderly people who visited the emergency room more than once. Data were recorded in researcher-made checklists. Finally, the data were analyzed with SPSS version 25 software. Results: Of 200 cases included 118 (59%) cases were men and 82 (41%) cases were women. The average age was 85.70 ± 10.76, 190 of cases (95%) had a chronic disease and 10 cases (5%) did not. 144 cases (72%) were married and 56 cases (28%) were single. In terms of education level, most (74%) patients were illiterate. In terms of employment status, 24% were unemployed .72 cases (43%) of the patients lived with their spouses. Abdominal pain was the most frequent reason for visiting the hospital among elderly people. Also, in terms of medical diagnosis, the highest rate (35%) of diagnoses belonged gastrointestinal conditions. Conclusions: The results showed that the most common reason for frequent visiting was abdominal pain. Also, in terms of medical diagnosis, the most diagnosis was gastrointestinal conditions.